well, whatever
by Adreus
Summary: Yuma has a girlfriend, Ryoga's jealous, and Kaito's an outlet. —Ryoga/Kaito, Yuma.


**Notes: **Another for the meme, so another one that could've been fleshed out. Ah, well. This time it's Ryoga/Kaito, with both (or maybe for this piece just Ryoga) having a crush on Yuma while Yuma's with someone else. I had a specific girl in mind, but fill in whichever ZEXAL lady you like, I guess!

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_well, whatever_

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It happens in Yuma's room, up in his attic and against his trunk, when Yuma's new girlfriend stands and stretches and thinks it time she head home and tells Yuma she wants him to walk her to the door. Yuma whines about it, of course, but she's having none of it and he does like her and, yeah, he has a vague notion that it _might _be about more than just being polite, so when Kaito nudges him forward with a small nod and Ryoga gives the slightest hint of a smile, she and Yuma disappear down the rope, the latter grinning.

There's a sense of relaxation that immediately blankets the atmosphere once they're gone, once the echoes of their laughter have disappeared from Yuma's room downstairs and into the hallway, and Kaito sighs a long, tired sigh, leans against Yuma's trunk of antiques, and closes his eyes, looking like he's about to doze off—and it's quite possible that he _is_, because they've been dueling all day, singles and matches and triangle duels, and it's been fun and exciting and fantastic, but at the end of the day, it takes a lot out of him. Almost immediately his breathing calms, the rise and fall of his stomach steady with even rhythm, and, yeah, okay, he can definitely feel himself nodding off, because he's awfully comfortable here—here, in Yuma's room, in the company of his friends, here after the warming sensation of a day well-spent. Reality quickly blurs with the edges of his dreams; only Ryoga's incessant pacing keeps him anchored to consciousness and his surroundings, but even that breaks away eventually or becomes one with his heartbeat, because it disappears, too, and Kaito sleeps.

He doesn't know how long he sleeps—he thinks he'd estimate a minute or so, but sometimes he wakes up feeling he didn't rest at all when the clock would tell him otherwise—when he jolts back awake, something very sudden, something very confusing, something unexpected. He frowns and opens his eyes, but his surroundings aren't consistent with where he thinks he is, so he shakes his head and returns to his dreams.

That's when—

"…Hey, Kaito."

—He feels the gaze on him before he feels anything else, and the pacing's stopped, and so Kaito opens his eyes, slowly, groggily, and then scrunches up his face and pulls himself to sit properly, because Ryoga's face is uncustomarily close to his. Confusingly close.

Kaito's mouth is open a little as he tries to put the pieces together; he keeps Ryoga's gaze evenly, notices that Yuma's not back but doesn't know how long it's been, notices that Ryoga's kneeling in front of him but doesn't know how long he's been doing so, and when Kaito finally thinks he's got something to say formulated, Ryoga, fourteen years old and frowning, swallows, leans forward, puts one hand against the trunk and the in Kaito's hair, and presses their lips together.

And it's… Ryoga's first kiss, Kaito imagines, because he… doesn't seem to know what he's doing, really, and it's desperate and kind of sad and Ryoga presses kind of… hard, um, but Kaito kind of just… lets him do it. It's—well, it is. And then Ryoga draws back, eyes wide when he takes in again what he did and who to, and he bites his lip and turns away, looking awfully distressed.

Kaito watches him. Speaks warily, "You, uh… okay there?"

Ryoga licks his lips, forms his fists, and stares at the floor. "I'm just…" He shakes his head, looks somewhat frantic, like he's trying to knock out his thoughts, like maybe if he spins his head enough they'll cease to exist, they'll disappear. "I…"

The window is open and the sound from below carries up through the wind, more laughter and her smacking Yuma and chiding him happily, informing him point blank that he's a terrible kisser, and Yuma yelling that maybe _she's _the bad one, seriously, where does she get off telling him, maybe she's the one who needs to sit around all day practicing instead of this or that, and—and—

Ryoga groans.

"Ah," says Kaito. And… that's all that needs to be said, really.

"Can you just…" Ryoga starts, and then he shakes his head, groans, doesn't so much sit as tumble into the position on Yuma's floor, holding his head in his hands. "I might… uh, do that again." He gives Kaito a sideways glance. "Do you—"

"Um," goes Kaito, and… what the hell is he supposed to say? 'No, Ryoga, you may not use me as an outlet for your pent-up sexual frustration'? "…Sure?"

And… well, that's how it begins. It doesn't really have a middle or an end.


End file.
